Good Without God? St. Petersburg Atheists Demonstrate In Order to Make A Point, Or Two

March 17, 2013

In St. Petersburg last week, a group of about three dozen infidels staged a
curious demonstration at a local non-profit Catholic hospital. The action by
the non-believers was designed to give the lie to an oft-heard charge by
fundamentalist Christians that, without a belief in a god who punishes
wrong-doers with eternal torture, there can be no morality or decency. Christians
decry atheists because, they affirm, why be good if you think that there is no
cosmic gendarme who sees all, knows all and judges all in the next life – and
smites those who performed dirty tricks in this one?

The infidel demonstration at the St. Anthony Hospital, one of Florida’s
largest faith-based health care institutions, was inspired by a report of a
protest event at a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in Forest Lake, Minnesota.
There, U.N. aid personnel reportedly delivered much-needed real food to
critically malnourished KFC customers. A quote from U.N. humanitarian affairs
director Gloria Dominguez deeply touched many of the atheist group members, who
decided that they, too, must do something of a humanitarian nature. Ms.
Dominguez statement: “In all my years in the field, I’ve never come across a
group of people who have gone so long without a proper meal.” (See “U.N. Aid
Workers Distributing Food To Malnourished KFC Customers,” The Onion, March 6,
2013.) The U.N. volunteers distributed fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and
other whole food plant-based nutrients to the desperate patrons at the Forest
Hills KFC.

However, the infidels were unsure what to distribute and where until someone
brought the latest issue of Time Magazine to their attention.

The Time expose (Steven Brill, “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills are Killing
Us,” Time Magazine, February 20, 2013) was of the non-profit health care sector
of our economy. The story shocked the infidel group and led to a resolve to do something
to help Americans oppressed, exploited and often financially ruined by
rapacious, out-of-control Maddogs of Capitalism. Briefly, they learned from the
Time expose the following:

* The U.S. “health” system is a profit-driven sickness management industry
posing as a health care resource.

* Time’s line-by-line analysis of costs for products utilized during
treatments in hospitals depicted a veritable gold rush of over-billing to a
grotesque degree. (Examples include $1.50 for a generic version of a Tylenol
pill – 100 sell at retail for $1.49; $13,702 for an injection of 600 MG of
Rituximab that cost the hospital less than $3000, a markup of about 400
percent.)

* Tax-exempt ‘non-profit’ hospitals have become the most profitable
businesses in nearly every town where they exist, and are run by the most
richly compensated executives.

* Non-profit hospitals put demands on taxpayers to a degree “unequaled
anywhere else on earth.” About 20% of U.S. GNP goes for medical care, twice
that of other developed countries.

* In every measurable way, this predatory system fails to produce better
health outcomes than are seen in other countries.

How does this happen, the infidels wondered? Then they read that the U.S.
health care industry has spent well over 5 billion
dollars lobbying politicians in Washington D.C. since 1998 – about two and a
half times more than any other industry, including the defense industry.

Something had to be done to help the victims of this ghastly system. Where
better to start than close to home? That’s when the idea came to the infidels
to provide a bit of humanitarian assistance to besieged patients at St. Anthony
Hospital.

On Thursday, the infidels showed up with signs and a wide variety of
over-the-counter drugs such as aspirin, boxes of band aids, adhesive tape,
dressing gowns, water bottles and other such items that would be donated to
hospital patients at no charge. Patients who accepted these items would save
hundreds, quite possibly thousands of dollars by avoiding being billed for the
same products at inflated prices.

Unfortunately, the free distribution program was terminated shortly after it
began. It seems that hospital administrators called the St. Petersburg Police
Department, demanding that the infidels be dispersed and removed from their
property.

Something about restraint of trade.

Still, the media, alerted in advance, were present during the distribution
of humanitarian assistance by the infidel group, and many interviews were aired
on local stations. Later, the protesters convened for a debriefing, at which
all agreed that their mission had been accomplished. Asked by one reporter if
anyone expected to be rewarded in the next life for this or other good deed or
for just generally being good people, none responded in the affirmative.

However, most of the supplies gathered to assist unfortunate hospital
patients entering the proverbial lion’s den are still on hand, so look for
further humanitarian efforts in the weeks to come at non-profit hospitals near
you.